XL2 and Firestore FS4

[Michael Salzlechner]

i am getting ready for another shoot where i will not be the shooter. I am using an FX-4 with my XL2

The shoot will be several hours with lots of little breaks in between

i am wondering about the best way to set up these two to make sure nothing goes wrong

one thing i am worried about is the FS-4 not recording

i think there is a problem if you power up the FS-4 first and then the camera

i am just testing this but it also seems to be an issue when the XL2 goes to sleep.

I tried the standby mode on the XL2 and had no problems with that.

i have it set to retro cache just in case. Both camera and FS-4 are powered by main power.

thanks for any tips

[Michael Salzlechner]

i tested this some more and now i cant make it fail again. But i did have it fail before where the firestore did not record when i hit record. I also noticed that the retro cache wasnt active either.

i tried turing the camera off and on, letting it go to sleep and all kinds of stuff but nothing failed.

I want to make sure i know of any issues so i can train my shooter to make sure this works so if anyone has any knowledge on issues like this please let me know

thanks

[Michael Salzlechner]

ok in my testing i did find that if the fs-4 was powered on first and the camera later the FS-4 will not record even if i hit record/stop multiple times. I have to power down the camera and power it up while the FS-4 is on to make it work.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

I've been using an FS 4 with my XL2 for a few months.I was having trouble and I dicovered that you have to power the FS4 first, then the canera.But the FS 4 STILL fails occasionally, when you have to power down the XL2 to change lenses, etc. I still haven't figured out how, when or why exactly.
For example, I was shooting a wedding last Sunday, and needed to chnge tape , or lens (can't remember which). I powered down and back up in the correct order, and the FS4 refused to work.Now firewire is a fickle and junk technology (I've had similar problems with my MOTU firewire multi track audio rig), so I shut down again, un plugged and re plugged the firewire cable,powered on again, and bingo...it worked. This same thing has happened to me on the last three shoots. I didn't really lose anything, but it's an annoying flaw in the technology. I have my fs 4 on the back of my Anton Bauer bracket, so I have to look at the back of the camera everytime I start shooting to make sure the FS 4 is working.
All I can say is "thank god for tape".
Bruce S. Yarock

[Michael Salzlechner]

Bruce

yes i had it fail on me too. Thats why i did some serious testing but i wasnt able to make it fail accept if i powered on the camera first.

I tried letting the camera go to sleep, turning it off, letting it go to standby and it always came back

at least if i have the retro cache on i see immediately if it is recording or not.

And yes i wouldnt shoot without tapes at all. Last time i lost the first song of a recital on the FS-4 and of course you cant power down the camera until the next break.

i velcroed the FS-4 on the canon accessory plate so we can see the display

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Michael,
Is Royal Palm Beach ner West palm? If you ever need another hand, give me a call. I have a strong background in audio also.
Bruce Yarock

[Michael Salzlechner]

Bruce. Yes it is. Actually Royal Palm is just west of West Palm next to wellington

This time i lready have someone but send me your contact info and also what you are looking for as well

email me at: mike@palmswestphoto.com